Case Study

Zoning impacts on arlington residential development

THE FOLLOWING CASE STUDY IS SHOWN FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES ONLY. CASE RESULTS DEPEND UPON A VARIETY OF FACTORS UNIQUE TO EACH CASE. THE CASE RESULTS BELOW DO NOT GUARANTEE OR PREDICT A SIMILAR RESULT IN ANY FUTURE CASE.

Zoning Impacts on Arlington Residential Development

A Lyon Village Tear Down Project

tear down project

This property posed a number of unique zoning challenges that were overcome to allow the owners to build their dream home. The existing structure was built in 1939, so the front and the right side of the home did not comply with the current zoning requirements for setbacks. If these sides were demolished, any new structure would have had to comply with the current zoning setback requirements.

Therefore, the most critical decision for the owners was whether to demolish the entire structure or keep one or more existing walls. Demolishing everything is much simpler, but it reduces the amount of buildable space on the property. Keeping one or more existing walls is significantly more complicated, but allowed the owners to maximize the buildable area.

Ultimately, the owners decided to keep several existing walls to maximize their buildable area.

Additionally, Steven Krieger Law counseled the owners on the following zoning matters -- many of which would have arisen even if the owners had decided to demolish the entire structure.

First, the lot is zoned RA8-18, which is a high-density classification instead of a single-family home classification.

Second, the lot is not technically on a "street," because the access road is not thirty feet wide, so the front setback requirement does not apply, but the County will not permit an owner build up to the non-street either.

Third, the right side of the existing structure does not conform with the side setback requirement, so the basement could not be expanded underneath the existing wall "by right."

Fourth, the lot is undersized for the applicable zoning classification, so the coverage calculations were unfavorable.

Fifth, because there was little room for error in the coverage calculations, appropriately including and excluding various design components in the calculation were critical to ensure compliance with the requirements of the zoning classification.

Sixth, there is a detached garage in the rear left corner of the lot that does not conform to the setback requirements, but could be "grandfathered" in under the current zoning code.

Despite the lot's constraints, we were able to help the owners maximize its potential by interpreting and applying the zoning ordinances to our advantage. This allowed the owners to design the house below, which should be complete in 2014.